The snakes and ladders of twenty-first-century trade unionism

Trade unions in the advanced countries face a difficult future Their core m embership bases in manufacturing industry and public services have become d eclining sectors of employment. Keynesian demand management on which they d epended for tight labour markets, has collapsed. Most industrial relations activity has shifted to the enterprise level, which they often find difficu lt to penetrate. Precarious employment makes union membership difficult, is growing. On the other hand certain advantages offset these weaknesses. For a number of different recent economic and political elites often need die support of trade unions for national social pacts. Also, employment conditi ons continue to create new social problems for working people, which only u nions crm express. Unions in different countries encounter these combinatio ns of favourable and unfavorable prospects in very different ways, which is likely to produce increasing diversity among the emerging national pattern s.